News Room

COVID-19 has transformed the landscape in which organizations and individuals operate. Within days of the first outbreak, almost every aspect of our lives changed, including how we work, attend school, shop, access healthcare, and socialize. Fortunately, digital versions of all these activities existed before the pandemic, resulting in quick adoption, and are likely to persist long after the pandemic is over.

DocWire News recently sat down with Dr. Julie Swann, the department head and A. Doug Allison Distinguished Professor of the Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at NC State University. She was also a science advisor for the H1N1` pandemic in 2009. Dr. Swann discussed the overall logistics of controlling the COVID-19 pandemic, and provided her thoughts on a national lockdown, as well as the impending coronavirus vaccines.

The lack of widespread, no-cost testing with quick result turnarounds is killing the social and economic foundation of our country. Asymptomatic infections perpetuate the large and steady flow of new cases reported across the nation. Access to testing will provide the hundreds of thousands of infected, yet asymptomatic and contagious, people knowledge of their status. Empowering people with such knowledge gives them the power of choice: to choose their behaviors and their role in reducing the spread of the virus.

The Pentagon expects to distribute 44,000 doses of covid-19 vaccine among military personnel and retirees against COVID as early as next week at 16 sites in what officials called a “controlled pilot.” Initial doses of the Pfizer vaccine will go to what officials described as a “limited, limited'' number of senior military officials and officers, including the Defense Secretary and Deputy Defense Secretary, the Chairmen and Vice Chairman of the Joints Chief and some others. But the bulk of the initial doses will go to the military healthcare workforce. 

This week, a widely shared tweet attempted to cast doubt around COVID-19 vaccines that must be stored at ultracold temperatures. “Any vaccine that needs to be shipped and stored at -80 degrees isn’t a vaccine. It’s a transfection agent, kept alive so it can infect your cells and transfer genetic material. Don’t let them fool you. This is genetic manipulation of humans on a massive scale. Shut it down,” the tweet falsely stated. Two of the leading vaccine candidates are created with messenger RNA, known also as mRNA.